Sciatica Treatment from our Chiropractor in St. Paul and Lakeville

Even if you’ve previously visited our chiropractor for back pain treatment, a return visit might not be your first thought if you’re experiencing leg pain instead. The pain from sciatica, however, is related to a problem in your back even though it doesn’t manifest there, and that’s where Dr. Couillard can help. In order to understand how chiropractic treatment for sciatica works, it’s helpful to understand what is causing your symptoms to begin with.

What Is Sciatica?

Sciatica, or sciatic nerve pain, is pain that radiates down the back of the leg as the result of an irritation or impingement of the sciatic nerve where it emerges from the spinal column in the lumbar region. The sciatic nerve is the largest in your body, and it’s actually formed from five nerve roots that exit the spine in your lower back and then combine as they move down through your buttocks to reach the back of your leg.

When they reach the leg, these nerves branch out again in order to serve diverse areas, and so the specific nature and location of your symptoms will depend on the part of the sciatic nerve that is affected up where they exit the spinal column.

Sciatica Causes and Symptoms

Sciatic nerve pain can be caused by a range of underlying conditions, from a slipped or herniated disc to spinal stenosis or isthmic spondylolisthesis. The herniated disc is the most common cause, and it leads you to develop sciatica symptoms either due to direct impingement of the nerve root or by irritation of the nerve by fluid leaking from inside the disc itself.

While this is certainly the sciatica cause, we most often encounter in our patients, anything that leads to a narrowing of the space the nerve has to pass through or that causes inflammation can, in turn, cause you to develop sciatic nerve pain. The symptoms of sciatica include pain running through the buttock and radiating down the back of the leg, almost always on one side. The pain may be tingling, burning or searing in nature, and it is often worse when you are sitting down. The pain may be accompanied by numbness, weakness or trouble moving your leg, but only seldom does it include low back pain.

Treatment for Sciatica from Our Lakeville and St. Paul Chiropractor

Our chiropractor has extensive experience treating sciatica pain, and we’ll tailor our treatments so that they properly address the causes of your symptoms. Because sciatica is the result of a misalignment or other issue in your lower back, our chiropractor in Lakeville can utilize a range of techniques including spinal manipulation to relieve the pressure on the nerve, thereby alleviating your symptoms.

To begin, our chiropractor will perform a thorough examination, discussing the precise nature and location of your symptoms with you so that we can make a definitive diagnosis. We’ll then put together a treatment plan tailored to your needs, and we’ll go over some exercises and stretches you can do to help keep your symptoms from returning. Depending on the underlying cause of your pain, we may also recommend some lifestyle or occupational adjustments to limit your risk of a recurrence.